LSTM’s 119th Annual General Meeting (AGM) has taken place. The meeting saw LSTM’s vice-presidents, the Board of Trustees and Members along with staff and invited guests came together to look back on the last 12 months at LSTM and celebrate the achievements; vote on a number of governance issues; adopt the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the academic and financial year 2016 – 2017 as well as discuss the next phase in LSTM’s future.

The AGM was the last one for departing Director, Professor Janet Hemingway CBE FRS. Board of Trustees chairman, James Ross OBE, thanked Janet for her 17 years of service and asked the audience to welcome Professor David Lalloo, who will take up his post as Director in January. He said: “It is the people and not the labs and buildings that make LSTM the great place it is.”

Professor Hemingway said it was important to look to the future and the different opportunities and challenges that it posed. She said that she had been lucky to have worked with such a great leadership team and talked of her delight in leaving LSTM in such a strong position. She said: “I am really pleased that David is taking over and that he will be able to carry on that growth and keep LSTM able to maintain its mission.”

During the meeting Treasurer Jon Schofield talked about LSTM’s financial position, achieving record growth again for the 10th consecutive year with income up 27% on last year. This places LSTM on a strong financial footing going forward.

Following the formal part of the meeting, Dr Adam Roberts, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Parasitology, gave a presentation to those present entitled: Evolution of Antimicrobial Resistance research at LSTM. After the presentation members and guests were given a tour, including of the Weston Active Learning Lab, which was formally opened by LSTM President Sir Richard Evans CBE. The lab, funded by various donors, offers students and faculty an unique on- and offline multi-learning and teaching experience. This was followed by a presentation on HIV self-testing: A game changer, which covered the Health Goals Malawi project and how LSTM and the LFC Foundation have partnered to use football as a platform for engagement to encourage young males to access health services.